Director of Educational Activities

Landing an Intern role with an orchestra is a smart way to learn about the different positions available in the artistic, operations, and administrative branches of the group. Time spent performing with an orchestra as a Section Member also gives valuable experience to future Directors of Education. Many begin their careers by assuming an Education Coordinator position before applying for more senior roles and eventually working their way up to Director status.

Orchestral Education Directors are, fittingly, highly-educated individuals. Most hold master’s degrees, usually in Performance, Education, or a closely-related subject. “My training was in Composition,” Allen says. “As a rule, that forces you into a lot of different fields, between teaching, composing, performing, and writing about music. All those things are expected of Composers so I found all my background there was very helpful — but I know I’m in the minority of my colleagues. There are a few others with Composition backgrounds but more of them have been musicians in orchestras. For me, that background worked out very well because it required one to be very immersed in a wide range of musical presentations: performing in many kinds of venues and that kind of thing. These days a Music Education degree could certainly be good as well because those programs are getting better and better.”

Administrative and managerial experience with performing arts organizations are important for aspiring Education Directors. Experience as a musical performer will also help Directors of Education to understand the strengths and challenges of the orchestra. “I find that I draw upon my writing skills quite a lot,” Allen says, “so if somebody has that in their skill set that comes in quite handy, whether it’s writing grant narratives or articles for the program book. It’s always very helpful in this kind of position.”

“You would definitely have to play well with others,” Allen says. “Collaboration is a lot of what an education position is about. Within the organization, you work directly with musicians, donors, volunteers, other staff members, students, and teachers, so it’s finding ways they can all work together so everyone is on the same page and going towards the same goal. Outside the organization I’m always doing collaborations with the Museum of Arts or the zoo; that’s really important to keep it relevant and vibrant so the community feels like, ‘Yes, this is a part of who we are and what we do.’”

While many other positions within an orchestra demand employees be on hand over weekends and evenings, this isn’t the case for an orchestra’s Director of Education. Allen explains, “The education department as a whole tends to be a little less [heavy on] nights and weekends than other operations positions just because what we do focuses on the school day. There are exceptions to that. The musicians work weekends and nights, but we do it a bit more sporadically.”

If you’re entering the workforce and hope to someday work in a Director of Education role, there are a couple different routes open to you. When keeping an eye out for open positions in an orchestra’s education department, Allen says what’s available “depends on the size of the orchestra. There are Coordinator positions that are an entry-level position in major orchestras throughout the country. With smaller orchestras, that tends to be less and less the case; at that level Education Directors can also be the Executive Director. If you’re wanting to get into this position, it doesn’t matter what size of orchestras you get into. Find an entry-level job that will help you follow that passion. I don’t know of an orchestra that doesn’t have some kind of educational outreach; even community orchestras find it to be an essential part of their mission. It’s not just orchestras — there are other kinds of arts organizations, whether it be in dance or chamber music — those skills do transfer because a lot of the job has to to with developing curriculum around creativity and artistic administration. Those are the two most essential elements of this type of job.”

Directors of Education receive a regular salary, plus benefits like health/dental insurance, paid time off, and sick leave. The rate of pay varies based on the prestige of the orchestra and its budget.

“The League of American Orchestras would be the most helpful in terms of resources and conferences,” Allen advises. “They also have special artistic administration scholarships and programs for people who want to get into the field. It’s in their self-interest to make the field as well-trained as possible, so they put a lot of their emphasis into the nurturing, training, and discovering of people interested in going into this kind of work.”

• “Try to get performance experience so you know what that’s like and what makes that successful.
• Also get classroom experience so when you’re developing programs for Teachers and students you’re not working in a vacuum.
• Be able to speak the language of Teachers. It’s really important to be able to speak the languages of musicians, Teachers, and students. Being able to bridge those two sides are really important.”

1. 1Multiple. "Director of Religious Activities and Education Salaries in United States". Glassdoor. published: Apr 1, 2013. retrieved on: Dec 17, 2019